$140 K equals middle class? (Boston, Wellesley: middle-class, mortgage, student loans)

[intelgal]

I recently read an article that describes how middle class nowadays mean household income of $140k. Is that really true? What does median income mean then? When I look at the states' median household income, they seem to be in the 45-55 k range, does than mean most people are in lower class or working class?

What about in MA? Or in Boston? What does it mean to be middle class? What does middle class really mean anyways in terms of quality of life?

Any insights would be appreciated.

[LeavingMA]

When politicians say that tax cuts are only for the rich, usually the "rich" means people or a household that makes over $80k a year.

Overall, $140k seems a bit high depending on where you classify middle-class. I think $140k would be on the upper end of the middle class.

[NY'er lost in MA]

$140K sounds pretty high for middle class. I'd say that is extreme upper-middle class to borderline white collar- upper class.

With $140K, you should be living fairly comfortably- even up here.

Middle class means you make decent money and work most of your life until retirement. You probably have a family and a nice home, but never anything really over the top. Probably have 2 cars, but not a Mercedes or Benz- just a Nissan/Toyota and or a Volvo.

Getting the gist of it?

Then again- most families have significant debt, so that is where the $140K can be deceiving. It really depends, but I still think $140K of income is very close to upper class if not completely over the line.

[mbzoltan]

Take home pay for a couple making $140K/year, with 2 kids, would be around $8-9K/month. If you have student loans, a $3K mortgage in the outskirts of Boston, 2 car payments, and need to save for retirement, PLUS have regular living expenses, then I could see how that would be "middle class" in VERY expensive areas like Boston, New York, etc. where a "moderately-priced" home brings a $3-4K/month mortgage with it.

I know plenty of people who own $300-350K homes in the metrowest area, with the wife at home with small kids, living on $100K comfortably. But they're not living in Concord or Lincoln in $600K-$700K homes while making $100K.

[mbzoltan]

And "median" means that exactly half of all people make less than $140K, and exactly half make more.

Median is a really weird figure, and because Boston has some VERY high income folks in the computer and biotech industries, the median is way out of whack vs. the rest of the country.

[seldomseen]

The definition of middle class (income) is: $30k-$100k...there's obviously a some tiering to this middle income definition. If you leave beyond your means you will be broke at $140k income. But if you live "right" you should be fine. But again, we don't have all the important variables to factor into to answer your questions best. e.g. debt to income ratio, family size, etc. These all reduce how hard a family's income can work.

[smarty]

Originally Posted by mbzoltan

And "median" means that exactly half of all people make less than $140K, and exactly half make more.

Median is a really weird figure, and because Boston has some VERY high income folks in the computer and biotech industries, the median is way out of whack vs. the rest of the country.

Please read intelgal post again. She says mean is $140K.

Mean is actually more "weird". If you have CEO making $10million a year, it could easily shift the mean to $140K. The median means half of the people make above that and half below that. It is more representative of the income picture.

From the Globe:
Median household incomes in Massachusetts were essentially unchanged in 2006, compared with the previous year, according to data released today by the US Census Bureau.

The bureau's American Community Survey found that the median household income in the state rose from an inflation-adjusted $59,186 to $59,963, an increase of $777, or 1.3 percent. But that difference was not statistically significant, meaning there was essentially no change in the numbers, a Census Bureau official said.

Nationally, the survey found, median household income rose from an inflation-adjusted $47,693 to $48,451, an increase of $758, or about 1.6 percent.

Massachusetts ranked fifth in the nation in 2006. Maryland, with a median household income of more than $65,000, was the national leader, followed by New Jersey, Connecticut, and Hawaii.

At the bottom of the rankings was Mississippi, where the median household income was $34,473.

[howsitgoingdude3]

I would agree that 140k definitely puts you in the middle class if that is
two persons income combined and you have more than one child. If it was a
single person’s income and they had no children I would journey to say they
have crossed the threshold into upper middle class. If I had to give a list
and categorize I’d do it based on single and married with children.
Obviously a single person has no real additional overhead besides taking
care of themselves, so they operate on much higher “margins.”

Single Individual Federal Tax Rates

Poor – anything between $0 - $18,000 a year 10%- 15%
Lower Middle anything between $18,001 - $35,000 a year 10%- 15%
Middle – Middle anything between $35,001 - $150,000 a year 15% - 25%
Upper Middle – anything between $150,001 - $600,000 a year 28% - 33%
Rich – anything between $600,001 - $5,000,000 a yea 35%
Wealthy – anything between $5,000,001 - $ Unlimited a year 35%

Family with Children *(denotes at least two or more)

Poor – anything between $0 - $30,000 a year
Lower Middle anything between $30,001 - $50,000 a year
Middle – Middle anything between $50,001 - $180,000 a year
Upper Middle – anything between $180,001 - $750,000 a year
Rich – anything between $750,001 - $5,000,000 a year
Wealthy – anything between $5,000,001 - $ Unlimited a year


What kinds of collar

Poor – blue collar (college student, fast-food worker, maid, dishwasher,
vagabond (PC term loose change street receptor), welfare etc)

Lower Middle – blue collar (mechanic, waiter, bartender, exotic dancer etc)

Middle – Middle - blue/white collar (admin asst, bank teller, police
officer, corporate slave, teacher etc)

Upper Middle – white collar (Judge, Investment banker, lawyer, salesman,
moderately successful entrepreneur, higher level corporate slaves)

Rich – white collar (Judge, Senator, Entertainers, Athletes, people living
in large 7sq houses in Wellesley, Doctor, Successful Entrepreneurs, CEO’s
of mid major corps, the Kennedy family, small pocket trust fund babies etc)

Wealthy – white collar (Extremely Successful Entrepreneurs, Oprah, Trump,
Martha, CEO’s of major companies, members of the Saudi Royal Family, Oil
Magnets, large pocket trust fund babies, last names ending in Vanderbilt,
DuPont, Johnson, Newhouse, Hilton, etc)


Hope this helps obviously this is up for argument, but I think you get the
jest of what I’m saying.

[smarty]

I'm not sure why we are discussing this. The government has all the statistics.

Household Income TOC

HINC-05--Part 1

You can determine what is middle class based on table below as everything is relative. Btw.. I never thought doctors are rich (made more than $600K according to howsitgoingdude3)

Income %
<$10K 7.49%
$10-20K 11.83%
$20-30K 11.65%
$30-40K 10.95%
$40-50K 9.44%
$50-60K 8.21%
$60-70K 6.80%
$70-80K 5.95%
$80-90K 4.69%
$90-100K 3.89%
$100-150K 11.54%
$150-200K 4.10%
$200-250K 1.53%
$250K+ 1.93%

[intelgal]

I just feel like $140 might go very far in Florida and not so much in Boston, MA. So each state might have different income range of what's middle class and what's not.